The Miami Heat aren't the type to get jealous of other NBA teams. Sure, they might covet others' elites from time to time, but the way coach Erik Spoelstra tells it, they always have enough.
It's fair to wonder, though, if they might feel at least a tinge of envy on opening night when they lock horns with their in-state—and Southeast Division—rivals, the Orlando Magic. Because in this Sunshine State-based battle for basketball supremacy, it sure feels like the Magic have a lot of what the Heat want.
Orlando's stars are brighter, its defense is stingier, its summer splash was splashier, and external expectations for this team are a whole lot rosier than they are for Miami. When the Heat think about what they hope to become, they might picture something that bears a striking resemblance to their first opponent of the 2025-26 campaign.
The Magic look like the best team in Florida—now and for the foreseeable future.
If Orlando and Miami fans raced through this year's batch of player rankings on ESPN, the former routinely had their appetite satisfied first.
Magic swingman Paolo Banchero was the highest-ranked player among the two teams at No. 17; Bam Adebayo paced the Heat at No. 21. Franz Wagner was the highest-ranked second option at No. 32; Tyler Herro checked in at No. 68. As for those offseason pickups, Orlando once again had the big advantage with Desmond Bane ranking 39th, or 43 spots higher than 82nd-ranked Norman Powell.
Granted, preseason rankings are subjective and certainly not the end-all, be-all in terms of evaluations, but most player lists will follow this same pattern: Miami's stars and support players lagging behind Orlando's. Adding insult to...well, insult, the Magic's most important players are also younger than the Heat's: Banchero and Wagner are younger than Herro; Bane is younger than both Adebayo and Powell.
So, Orlando is ahead in this race right now, and based on both teams' trajectories, it has a real chance to widen that gap going forward.
The Heat also have very little set for the future, beyond grandiose dreams of striking it rich in free agency one of these years (which, under this collective bargaining agreement, feels like an increasingly precarious plan). The Magic, on the other hand, are set to spend at least the next three seasons with all of Banchero, Wagner, Bane, Jalen Suggs, Jonathan Isaac, and Wendell Carter Jr. And they have hopes of expanding that core with any of the likes of Anthony Black, Tristan da Silva, Jase Richardson, and Noah Penda.
Orlando's immediate outlook appears, in the eyes of many, to be right on the cusp of championship contention. And with so many ascending players on the roster, it can reasonably expect even better days ahead.
Miami's short-term prospects are...pretty bleak, honestly. Heat fans can probably talk themselves into maybe fighting for the sixth seed in the East if everything breaks right, but another play-in tournament invitation feels more likely. And hoping for any kind of playoff breakthrough is probably asking a lot, even in the injury-riddled Eastern Conference.
Miami's longer-term hopes are...well, tied largely to players who aren't actually on the team. Sure, the Heat might hope that young players like Kel'el Ware, Nikola Jovic, and Kasparas Jakucionis can pop, but there's a reason this franchise feels forever focused on external stars. They don't have a card-carrying member of this league's inner circle of elites, nor any young players who are clearly destined to join that uber-exclusive club.
That's how everything appears at the moment, at least, but maybe things feel a lot different after these two lock horns on Wednesday night. If the Heat are going to surprise people this season, snagging a road win over an in-state rival that virtually everyone appears to have higher on would be a great way to start.